Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
283. Olivia - Reunion III

The winter is less harsh in the desert, but the thin pants and shirt I'm wearing do little to protect me from the cold weather. Mose wraps his arm around me, and I lean my head on his shoulder. He has my back too, not just Wasp. If I return to the farm with him, I won't be so alone. Ansel and Jasper are there. But Rueben will keep blaming me for what my father did, and I don't think I'm ever ready to face that Levi is dead. Making decisions is so hard.

If I had stayed on the farm that day, Levi and the others would still be alive. I could have picked a different day to go to the Catacombs.

As we step out of the garage, Mose presses his lips to my temple. "Shh," he tries to soothe me. Does he feel the turmoil in my heart?

My butterflies drag the Bitch after us.

Several cars are parked nearby.

Wasp waits for us next to one. "We were going to another Sanctuary up in the mountains when you sent me the message. This is why I could get here in time." She hands me the keys. "Your old bond is starting to heal. I don't know what's causing it, but it looks better than the first time I saw it. The second bond is permanent, while the new one is...I never saw anything like it before. Tendrils of darkness surround it, but I don't feel that it's evil. Just...different. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing. Only time will tell."

My bond with Ansel is permanent.

My bond with Mose is...something new, I guess.

My bond with *him* is healing. Why? "Be safe."

A hellstar comes to us. "We killed all the doctors and nurses we found alive. We also found more experiments locked in cells." The ones who **919** probably didn't have time to get out. "Once they are free, we can be on our way." I saved Mose, and the experiments will be safe with Wasp.

Time to face Tyson and Rueben and endure their eternal hate. I can do this.

"Thank you for your help," I say to Wasp and open the driver's door.

Mose grabs the keys and gets in. "I. Drive."

I'm not going to argue with him over this. "Just get us home in one piece." Before I enter the car, I search for **919** with my gaze. He is several feet away, talking to the other experiments. Anton is also there, his shoulder covered in bandages. "Hope we meet again." He nods. My butterflies dig into the Bitch's stomach and pull out her uterus before returning to me. "Now, we are even," I say to her. "Anton, kill her." Anton smiles. "I will."

Mose leans over and closes the door before helping me put on the seatbelt. "Mine," he growls before kissing me.

His tongue pushes past my lips and licks every inch of my mouth.

"Mine," he repeats against my lips.

"Yours," I assure him.

He kisses me again before starting the car.

My heart starts to race. How will Rueben and Tyson react when they see me? Would they blame me for what happened to Mose? Most likely. I'm always the scapegoat. "Have you driven before?" I ask.

"No," Mose replies. "Mose. Did."

Right. I keep referring to the demon as Mose, but they are different. But how else should I call him? "If you crash the car, I'm going to be pissed."

****

I get out of the car and slam the door shut. "What did I tell you?"

It took Mose only ten minutes to lose control of the wheel and hit a tree. At least he hit the brakes, and we didn't suffer any injuries.

"What do we do now?"

Mose looks at the road. "Walk."

I shake my head. "I don't think that's a good idea. The Dukes must be on their way to the facility to see what happened. If they find us...." My chin trembles. After being touched in kindness by Ansel, Mose, and Jasper and showed that sex is not only pain, I don't want to fuck anyone else except them. It's not only that. Ansel cares about me. "I'd rather die than go back to the Celestial Heaven."

Mose gathers me in his arms. "Protect."

That's what I'm afraid of. Each time Mose protects me, he gets injured. He has no self-preservation instinct. "I know you will." If we make it into the city, maybe we can find a way to call Tyson. I saw his phone number in Jasper's phone, and...it was easy to memorize. "Let's go."

Mose lets go of me, not entirely, as he holds my hand, and we start walking.

It's cold, and my bare feet are already frozen. Wasp could have at least left a blanket in the car. Or some bags that Mose and I could have used to put on our feet.

We keep walking until we hear fireguns coming from down the road. The Dukes are here.

"We need to find a place to hide," I hiss.

But we are in the middle of the fucking desert, and except for some trees and tall cacti, there is nothing here. I'd rather take my chances with the cacti than the Dukes.

I pull Mose off the road. "Duck!" I say when we get behind the cacti. We sit there, listening to the fireguns getting closer to us. I bury my face into Mose's neck. His arms around me, protecting me from what's to come.

I shouldn't be so scared when I know my darkness will protect us, but I can't help imagining that I'll be dragged back to the Celestial Kingdom. Mose hums softly in my ear.

Cars pass by us, shouts coming from them. Bullets hit the ground near us. I whimper against Mose's neck. He rubs my back, but it does little to calm me. It feels more like a goodbye. They found us.

My fingers dig into his skin. My heart pounds so fast, I can hear it. His hold tightens around me.

A car gets off the road and clashes into the cacti, missing Mose and me by an inch. It stops a few meters away from us. At least two cars stop on the road. People get out. A dog barks. "Olivia!"